Rush Hour: Opposition says UGC rules push RSS agenda, protection for Asaram series makers and more

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has claimed that the University Grants Commission’s draft regulations are part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s agenda to impose a single history, tradition and language on the country. At a protest organised by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, he contended that the Hindutva organisation is seeking to erase all other cultures and traditions.

The draft rules have been framed in line with the Union government’s New Education Policy 2020. Among other contentious changes, they propose to revise the process for appointing teaching and administrative staff and grant chancellors more authority in selecting vice chancellors. In most state-run universities, the chancellor is the state governor, who is appointed by the Centre.

On Wednesday, seven state governments passed a joint resolution demanding that the regulations be withdrawn, arguing that state governments should play a central role in appointing vice chancellors. Limiting the power of states in this regard would violate federal principles, read the document, adopted by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Read on.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed in Parliament that the Uniform Civil Code is in line with the vision of the Constitution’s framers. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, he said those who study Constituent Assembly debates would see…

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